“True Detective” Season 3

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

True Detective Season 3 Mahershala Ali Old

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

“True Detective”

Mahershala Ali stars in the new season of “True Detective,” and the first trailer brings a dark world back to vivid life. From director/executive producer Jeremy Saulnier and director/writer/creator Nic Pizzolatto, Season 3 takes a trip down to Arkansas and sends the series back to its rural roots.

But that’s not the only connection to Season 1 in the new footage. There’s evidence of three separate time periods, most notably present when a gray-haired Mahershala Ali is shown with a pained expression on his face. Season 1 featured two distinct settings, as Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) recounted their decades-old case in the present day.

McConaughey and Harrelson are still executive producers on “True Detective,” and after a second season that saw mixed reviews (at best), Pizzolatto (and HBO) seem intent on reminding viewers what they once loved about the landmark anthology series. Click through to see photos from Season 3, along with cast members and connections to the past.

Mahershala Ali plays Wayne Hays, a state police detective from Northwest Arkansas. His primary investigation centers on a crime committed in the Ozarks, and in this shot he’s staring down these words…

“Julie is in a good place and safe the children shud…”

Carmen Ejogo (left) plays Amelia Reardon, an Arkansas schoolteacher with a connection to two missing children in 1980. She also appears to have a connection with Mahershala Ali’s Wayne Hays, as evidenced by this dinner scene.

Mahershala Ali may not be happy in this shot, but it can’t be because of his look — an older Ali still looks good! Much better than when we first met Rust Cohle after 17 years removed from the case.